The Farseer Trilogy

Robbin Hobbs first novels(at least under that name--she also published under the name "Megan Lindholm" though the storytelling is quite dissimilar ), and still some of her best.

 This trilogy consists of "Assassin's Apprentice", "Royal Assassin", and "Assassin's Quest", and is narrated by Fitz, a bastard son of the dead Prince Chivalry brought up in the stables of the King Shrewd.  Hobb is a master of characterization and she brings Fitz to life like few others could manage.

  Hobb gives those of royal lineage a name that indicates something of the characters nature hence the somewhat peculiar names.

 Fitz eventually enters training as an assassin for the King, and as his father was royal he inherits 'the Skill', one of the two magical systems Hobb employs, and so is also trained in its usage.

 Fitz also has something known as 'the Wit', an ability to bond with  animals.  The Wit is widely loathed, those possessing it are often persecuted.

 Fitz doesn't have many friends--a shop girl in the nearby town,  a wolf he bonds with, and the King's Fool who is strangely fascinated with him.

 Hobb is not afraid to do terrible things to her characters, and Fitz suffers deeply in her hands.  This is why the series works so well. A great example of a character driven story.

9.3/10

Dragon Haven

"Dragon Haven" is Hobb's sequel to "Dragon Keeper", this is the second book in her new "Rain wilds Chronicles".

The story continues where it left off, the dragon keepers are navigating up the river attempting to find the mythical city of the dragons.

 Hobb creates some of the best characters, they are far more real and alive than what you typically find in other novels.  While I don't think the characters in this series are comparable to Fitz from Hobb's earlier work, they are still better than most.  I particularly liked Thymara, a young girl scarred with aftereffects of living in the rain wilds.
   There was one character that could grow mildly irritating, Alise Finbok a middle aged woman who isn't terrible interesting, she also wines a-lot.

 The plot is fairly simple, probably the simplest of any of Hobb's series.  It can more or less be summed up with a single sentence; they travel up a river.

The book does end rather abruptly, although it appears that Hobb is working on another Rain Wilds novel, so this isn't likely to be the real ending.

 I'm a huge Hobb fan, and while this may not be her best novel ever, it is still well written and quite enjoyable.

8.7/10